A Book of Holiday Customs Compiled by Elizabeth H. Sechrist Illustrated by Guy FrySpecial edition published by E. M. Hale and Companycopyright 1940

An interesting and informative book with stories explaining how the holiday came to be.

Here you will find poems for all the special days going right through the year from January and its holidays to Christmas. It includes such days as Inauguration Day, Robert E. Lee's Birthday, Roosevelt's Birthday, Red Cross Day, Ash Wednesday, Bird Day, Armed Forces Day, Pioneer Day, United Nations Day, and many other less known holidays, as well as an the traditional days.

It is impossible to study the history of our holidays without being conscious of the history and growth of the peoples who observed them. Throughout the nations of the world certain days are observed which have a significance to that country alone, holidays that have developed with the nation. In this book it did not seem necessary to include any except those that were similar to or comparable with some holiday of our own. However, many of the holidays inherited from the Old World are colored with ancient customs reflecting the manners and customs of a world of the past,—the ancient Romans, the Celts of Britain, the Medieval English and the peasants of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as our own Colonial ancestors. When we observe these old holidays today we are keeping alive in the present the traditions of the past, for they have a foothold so firmly rooted that modern ways cannot push them completely from the calendar. Let us hope that it will be a long, long time before these colorful customs vanish.

contents

9 preface 15 story of the calendar 27 new year's day 41 lincoln's birthday 51 st. valentine's day 59 washington's birthday 67 st. patrick's day 77 easter 89 april fools' day 96 arbor day 107 pan-american day 118 may day 132 mother's day and children's day 142 memorial day 148 flag day 158 independence day 166 columbus day l74 hallowe'en and all saints' and all souls' 188 armistice day 196 thanksgiving day 205 Christmas 226 other holidays feast days and fast days 241 bibliography 245 index

condition:A previous school library book with the typical markings and edge/corner fray and random lightly penciled check marks. One page, 118, has a corner chip which affects the first word of the last sentence on the page. Otherwise the cover and pages are intact.